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81-621: A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum . They first appear in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in Oz. The Munchkins are described as being the same height as Dorothy and they wear only shades of blue clothing, as blue is the Munchkins' favorite color. Blue

162-729: A Certificate of Death . The Munchkins then celebrate further as Dorothy receives gifts from the "Lullaby League" and the "Lollipop Guild". Near the end of the song, the Wicked Witch of the West arrives, which causes the Munchkins to panic. After the Wicked Witch of the West leaves, Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City as the Munchkins guide her out of Munchkinland. The Munchkin actors have since not avoided controversy with alleged behavior behind

243-577: A "pink kitten," or sometimes, as in Glinda of Oz (1920), as a "purple kitten." The last third of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz presents her as dishonest, and she is placed on trial for having eaten the smallest of the Nine Tiny Piglets , which was given to Princess Ozma as a pet. Eureka is threatened with execution until the piglet is finally found. Although Eureka ultimately tells them where

324-472: A beautiful young woman who practices Yookoohoo (transformation-only) magic for her own amusement. Reera is interested by his impertinence with her, and Ervic very shrewdly manipulates her into restoring the Adepts to human form, taking quite a bit of time and waiting for her to ask permission to transform them several times. The Adepts are able to assist the raising of the city, and with Coo-ee-oh gone, Lady Aurex

405-594: A few average-sized children were also included as background extras in order to make up the 124 characters requested by MGM . In the musical, the Munchkins first appear when Dorothy and Toto arrive in the Land of Oz after her house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East . The Munchkins hide from all the commotion until Glinda the Good Witch arrives reassuring them that everything is okay. Dorothy tells them how she arrived in

486-653: A joyless and gray life on a small farm on the prairies of Kansas . Neither of them believe their niece when she tells them she has been to the Land of Oz ; they consider her a mere dreamer, as her dead mother had been. This changes when the two later face foreclosure on their farm. Dorothy arranges with Princess Ozma to bring them to Oz, so that they can escape their bleak fates and be safe and finally content. Eventually, in The Emerald City of Oz (1910), they move permanently to Oz and take up jobs there. Betsy Bobbin

567-503: A lion collector named King Mustafa seeks to capture him, while he seeks to restore his courage. Dorothy Gale is the main character and adolescent protagonist in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and several sequel Oz books. She is a heroic and sweet-tempered orphan girl from a small farm on the prairies of Kansas . Baum never reveals Dorothy's age, but she is thought to be no older than twelve years old. In appearance she

648-555: A novelization of the play), wherein she teams up with the Shaggy Man and together they go to the Nome King 's Caverns. In the book series, Betsy arrives to Oz from Oklahoma with a mule named Hank, and she is shown as a constant companion of both Dorothy and Trot in the later books. In The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), she is said to be one year older than Dorothy Gale. Betsy is more passive than Dorothy, and in one book she

729-535: A train with her to San Francisco to visit her relatives on Hugson farm. While riding with Bill Hugson's nephew Zeb, an earthquake opens a large chasm in the ground, and Eureka falls with Dorothy, Zeb, and Jim the Cab-Horse into the land of the Mangaboos, people made of vegetable. The strange lights in the Mangaboos' cavern create all sorts of odd colors, and Eureka looks pink there. Eureka is then referred to as

810-555: Is a Munchkin who attends Shiz University with Elphaba and Galinda . In the musical adaptation (but not in Baum's or Gregory Maguire 's books), Boq becomes the Tin Woodman . In the musical's two-part film adaptation (2024–2025), his character arc is expanded upon, complete with him being given a surname, Woodsman. The Braided Man is a bent-over old man with his hair and beard in braids who lives halfway up Pyramid Mountain. He

891-410: Is a fictional character in L. Frank Baum 's Land of Oz . Betsy is portrayed with various hair colors throughout the series; in her initial appearances her hair was colored as blonde, strawberry blonde or light brown. Later appearances depicted her as brunette or with auburn hair. Betsy first appears in Baum's 1913 stage play The Tik-Tok Man of Oz , and then in his 1914 novel Tik-Tok of Oz (partly

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972-475: Is a fictional character who first appears in two of Baum's fantasy novels, The Sea Fairies (1911) and Sky Island (1912). Bill was introduced along with his friend Trot; they both later appear in The Scarecrow of Oz (1915) which is the ninth book in the Oz series . Cap'n Bill Weedles is an ex-sailor with a wooden left leg from the knee down. His head is almost bald and what little hair he has

1053-594: Is a great inventor who used to live on the surface of the Earth where he worked with holes until a big one caused him to fall deep underground where he landed on Pyramid Mountain and lived on its spiral staircase since. Since then, he has amused himself by making Flutters and Rustlers. He first appears in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908) where he meets Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz when they arrive at his cave and he gives them some of his products. While he states that there

1134-535: Is a minor character who appears in the beginning of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). He is depicted as a wealthy Munchkin man with a large family who offers Dorothy Gale and Toto shelter after throwing a lavish banquet in Dorothy's honor upon her arrival to the Land of Oz . Boq plays a much larger role in the Wicked books (1995) and the successful Broadway musical of the same name (2003). In Wicked , Boq

1215-491: Is a student at the College of Art and Athletic Perfection; he is both respectful and resentful towards his teacher Wogglebog who considers Zif a "nobody or a nothing". The Munchkin characters that Baum had created in his lifetime also appear in these additional works. While the 1939 film is the most well known adaptation (see section below), it was not the first outside work to show the Munchkins in film or musical format. One of

1296-599: Is a vast province in eastern Oz, filled with huge farmlands, known as the "Corn Basket" and small towns and villages scattered all around, the famous Yellow Brick Road runs all over the region from the town of Center Munch to the southern gate of the Emerald City, known as Munchkin Mousehole, just outside a forested area known as the Pine Barrens; there are also some lakes, such as Mossmere, Illswater and Restwater,

1377-767: Is a white rabbit from Bunnybury who first appears in The Emerald City of Oz (1910). He works as the Keeper of the Wicket which is a name given to the Doorman of Bunnybury. He can only admit visitors with an order or letter of introduction from Ozma of Oz or Glinda the Good. When visitors are admitted, Bristle reduces them to the size of a rabbit before letting them into the village itself. Button-Bright (real name: Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith) first appears in

1458-425: Is also the predominating color that officially represents the eastern quadrant in the Land of Oz . The Munchkins have appeared in various media, including the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz , as well as in various other films and comedy acts. While Baum may have written about it, there are no surviving notes for the composition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz . The lack of this information has resulted in speculation of

1539-526: Is brought back in Baum's twelfth book, The Tin Woodman of Oz . By this time, she is shown to be a more prominent character who is helpful and friendly to Dorothy and her friends. Two other major Munchkin characters also appear in The Tin Woodman of Oz : Tommy Kwikstep and Nimmie Amee. The former appears in the story asking for a wish for running an errand for a witch; the latter is the name given to

1620-560: Is described as having chubby little hands, a round rosy face, big earnest eyes filled with awe and a merry laugh. She has a small pet dog Toto , whom she loves dearly. After her first adventure in the Land of Oz , she returns to Kansas via the charmed Silver Shoes ( Ruby Slippers in the classic MGM musical of 1939 ) she obtained while there but lost between worlds when she was teleported back. Not much later, she unexpectedly returns to Oz again, thus having several more adventures before permanently settling there as an official princess of Oz in

1701-455: Is described as shy. Betsy was later made a Princess of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson , and she also appears as the protagonist of Thompson's The Hungry Tiger of Oz (1926) in which she helps a young prince from an Evian kingdom called Rash regain his throne from a wicked uncle. Billina is Dorothy's pet hen on the Kansas farm and first appears in the book Ozma of Oz (1907), in which she saves

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1782-751: Is distinguished by the color blue , which is worn by most of the Munchkins, as well as the color of their surroundings. While the Eastern part of the Munchkin Country is described as rich, beautiful, fertile and pleasant, and inhabited by friendly people, the Western part of the province (i.e., the region bordered by a large forest and the area surrounding the Emerald City) is wild, rough and dangerous. Certain areas of this land are densely forested, and inhabited by ferocious beasts. Munchkin Country

1863-457: Is grizzled. His eyes are pale blue with a gentle look to them, and his face is round, rugged, and bronzed. He has been Trot's companion from birth as he was her mother's star boarder. Formerly he was captain of a schooner with Trot's father as his mate; after losing his leg, the Cap'n retired, and Trot's father was promoted to captain of the same ship. Cap'n Bill and Trot also play significant roles in

1944-465: Is named Queen of the Skeezers by Princess Ozma , and for his valor, Aurex names Ervic her Prime Minister . Eureka is a white kitten who is introduced in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908). She is found by Uncle Henry who gives her the name Eureka, which means "I have found it!" Henry then gives the cat to his niece Dorothy making the cat her pet. Dorothy carries Eureka in a small birdcage on

2025-497: Is no use of money on Pyramid Mountain, he does accept Dorothy's blue bow. In The Road to Oz (1909), the Braided Man appears to have made it back to the surface as he was among the guests at Princess Ozma's birthday party. His present to Princess Ozma is the finest Flutters that he has made. The Braided Man appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz . He made a background appearance at the coronation of Princess Ozma. Bristle

2106-594: Is not bothered by his lack of a heart). Nimmie Amee agreed to marry him, but on the day of their wedding, a storm rose up, and the rain rusted Fyter so badly that he was frozen in place along a little used forest path. There he stood for years until he was discovered by the Tin Woodman , the Scarecrow , Woot the Wanderer, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter . Once lubricated and restored to life, Fyter accompanies

2187-458: Is often considered one of Baum's strongest male characters (as the author's male characters often tend to be ineffectual). When Queen Coo-ee-oh launches her submarine attack on the Flatheads, Ervic is one of the young men in her flagship. The Flatheads quickly dispatch with Coo-ee-oh, as they simply wanted revenge on her personally, but as she is the only one who knows the magic to get back to

2268-524: Is rather clear. Though unlike the Woggle-Bug, Frogman is not thoroughly educated and is much more interested in dandy fashion . He accidentally bathes in the Truth Pond and is thereafter magically compelled to speak only the truth. In The Magic of Oz (1919), Frogman is among the guests at Princess Ozma's birthday party. In 1986, March Laumer made him, with the proper name Frederick Fraukx,

2349-501: Is referred to as "Munchkin Country" in all subsequent Oz books. Munchkin Country is linked to Oz's imperial capital the Emerald City by means of the yellow brick road . The native inhabitants of this quadrant are called Munchkins. In the story, the novel's protagonist Dorothy Gale , attends a celebration upon her arrival to Oz at the mansion of Boq , who is the friendliest and wealthiest Munchkin man. "Munchkin" does not necessarily mean someone of short stature. Many Munchkins portrayed in

2430-697: Is the site where Dorothy Gale 's house lands after being carried to Oz by a cyclone . Munchkin Country's ruler was the Wicked Witch of the East but upon Dorothy's arrival in Oz, she is eliminated when the house lands on top of her, causing much celebration among the Munchkins. Princess Ozma 's party visited the King of the Munchkins on their return from the Dominions of the Nome King , and found Jinjur working in his employ. This king also appears briefly in The Road to Oz . Ruth Plumly Thompson 's books identify

2511-543: The Good Witch of the North . The rest of the Munchkins then come out of hiding and are shown to be grateful towards Dorothy for killing their evil ruler the Wicked Witch of the East . Dorothy later eventually finds the yellow brick road and along the way attends a banquet held by a Munchkin man named Boq . Sometime in the book a background story is also given about a "Munchkin maiden" (named Nimmie Amee in later books), who

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2592-553: The Hollywood Walk of Fame . Seven of the surviving Munchkin actors from the film were present. As a result of the popularity of the 1939 film, the word "munchkin" has entered the English language as a reference to small children, persons with dwarfism, or anything of diminutive stature. The following is a list of actors who portrayed the Munchkins in the 1939 film. Most of the dwarfs hired were acquired for MGM by Leo Singer ,

2673-519: The Land of Oz . In the sequel Oz books, he is often the main character in subplots that deal with him getting lost and being found again. In the non-canon stories of March Laumer , Button-Bright is depicted as an adult and married to Glinda . In the Dorothy Must Die multi-volume series, he is married to Polychrome. Button-Bright appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz in the background at Princess Ozma's coronation. Cap'n Bill Weedles

2754-591: The Scarecrow and Tin Woodman as he is in search of courage. At the end of the book, he becomes King of the Beasts in the dark forest in Oz's southern quadrant called Quadling Country , though this is rarely brought up in later Oz books. In the sequels, he appears in minor roles as Ozma's bodyguard and beast of burden, along with the Hungry Tiger . In Ruth Plumly Thompson's The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923),

2835-590: The Wicked Witch of the West , and her younger sister Nessarose (although in the novel, they grew up in Quadling Country ). In the Broadway musical Wicked , based on the novel, their father is the governor of Munchkinland. In both adaptations, Nessarose eventually comes to power but her corrupt rule earns her loathing by the Munchkinlanders and the name, "Wicked Witch of the East". Like all

2916-546: The 1909 book The Road to Oz . When Button-Bright first appears, he is shown as a little boy who answers most questions with "Don't know." In the story Button's head is temporarily changed into a fox 's head by King Dox of Foxville; upon arriving in the Land of Oz, Billina and Tik-Tok took Button-Bright to the Truth Pond so that he could regain his head. He later makes an appearance at Princess Ozma 's birthday party. Baum brought Button-Bright back for his 1912 novel Sky Island , where he encounters Trot and Cap'n Bill for

2997-687: The Cookie Cook is a character who appears in the book The Lost Princess of Oz (1917). She is a Yip, a resident of a remote plateau in Oz who is noted for the delicious cookies she bakes in her diamond-studded gold dishpan. Cayke knows that the dishpan has magic powers; she admits to the Frogman that without it she is a poor cook, and her cookies are "pretty poor stuff and no better than any woman could make who does not own [her] diamond-studded gold dishpan." However, she has no idea that her magic dishpan can carry its occupants anywhere they desire to go. Ugu

3078-472: The East. John R. Neill 's Oz books name the Scarecrow as king of the Munchkins, although this contradicts the previous books. He is never shown in this capacity; he is simply stated to be so. In The Patchwork Girl of Oz , it is revealed that parts of the Yellow Brick Road have Man-Eating Plants near them. In Gregory Maguire 's novels, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of

3159-409: The Emerald City in the center. The country as a whole was originally enchanted by a character named Queen Lurline , who is described in the Oz backstory. Additional characters were added in regions surrounding the Land of Oz (beyond the deserts) as the series progressed. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry appear in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). They are Dorothy Gale 's guardian aunt and uncle. They live

3240-525: The Land of Oz (through a musical number ) and the Munchkins celebrate. To make it official, a Barrister and a number of City Fathers insist to the Mayor of the Munchkin City that they must make sure that the Wicked Witch of the East is really dead before the celebration continues. The Coroner confirms this by saying that the witch is "not only merely dead" but is indeed "most sincerely dead" while showing

3321-479: The Munchkins include their country name of Munchkinland and their clothes of many colors instead of an all-blue attire. In the musical, the Munchkins are portrayed by the thirty-odd members of the Singer Midgets , a European performing troupe made up of adult actors with dwarfism . Their numbers were swelled when a national talent search brought in a further ninety-four little men, women, and teenagers, with

Munchkin - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-539: The Tin Woodman left his beloved Nimmie Amee after losing his heart (as he felt he could not love her), Fyter, a member of the Munchkin army, met and fell in love with her when he found her crying over her lost love. Unfortunately, she was a ward to the Wicked Witch of the East, who made Fyter's sword do what the Woodman's axe did and cut off his limbs, which Ku-Klip the tin smith replaced with tin limbs (although Fyter

3483-428: The West and Son of a Witch (which use "Munchkinland"), the characters are not all Munchkins, and so they are actually called Munchkinlanders. In these books (unlike the more famous movie), Munchkins are generally shorter than average height, though the more powerful families, as Frexspar said, "married into some height along the way." Maguire portrays Munchkinland as the corn belt of Oz, geographically, Munchkinland

3564-699: The Wise Donkey serve as public advisors. She first appears in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913) where Patchwork Girl, Ojo, and Glass Cat stop by the office of the Foolish Owl and the Wise Donkey where they knew about their current mission. The Frogman is a human-sized frog who appears as a character who is first introduced in The Lost Princess of Oz (1917). He was once an ordinary frog and his similarity to Professor Woggle-Bug

3645-598: The biggest lake of the nation and the birthplace of the Munchkin River that runs along the road and between the corn fields, the Madeleines at the west make the natural border with Gillikin and the mountainous hills within the Quadling Kells are the borders of the southern Quadling Country, The mines of The Glikkus are located directly north. Munchkinland is also shown to be the native home of Elphaba , or

3726-605: The book The Emerald City of Oz (1910). Dr. Pipt is sometimes called the Crooked Magician. He first appears in The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913). He is so crooked that his legs are nearly as handy as his arms. When he sits, one knee is under his chin and the other behind his back. Dr. Pipt lives in the Munchkin Country with his wife Margolotte. He is notable for creating the Patchwork Girl (who

3807-508: The books are of normal height, most notably Nick Chopper (also known as the Tin Woodman ). Michael Patrick Hearn suggests the name Munchkin may have been inspired by the fabulous Baron Munchausen . He also points out that the 1961 Russian edition derives the name from the verb "to munch." Evan Schwartz suggests a reference to the Münchner Kindl . The publishing company Reilly & Britton (later Reilly & Lee) published, in

3888-495: The citizens of Oz from being turned into decor objects by the evil Nome King . She is sassy and talkative; at the conclusion of Ozma of Oz, Billina chooses to stay in Oz and live in the Emerald City 's royal palace, later becoming the matriarch of a large colony of chicks. She is a major character in Walt Disney's 1985 live-action film Return to Oz , in which she helps Dorothy save the Land of Oz from near extinction. Boq

3969-437: The countries of Oz, the Munchkin Country contains various unusual sights, creatures, and places. Among them are: List of Oz characters (created by Baum)#Unc Nunkie This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum . The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. Oz is made up of four divisions that surround

4050-488: The dialogue exchanged with Dorothy where she is given the flowers. The rest of the voices, such as the "Munchkin chorus", were created by Pinto Colvig and Billy Bletcher with their voices recorded at a slow speed, which were subsequently sped-up when played back. In 1989, author Stephen Cox researched, found, and wrote about the surviving Munchkin actors fifty years after they made the film. He wrote about them in his book, The Munchkins Remember (1989, E.P. Dutton), which

4131-515: The diamond-studded gold dishpan has been passed down in her family, from her mother and all of her grandmothers since the beginning of time; but its origin is never disclosed. Cayke makes a brief appearance in Jeff Freedman's 1994 novel The Magic Dishpan of Oz (her dishpan plays a much greater role there). The China Princess is a delicate and beautiful figurine made of china who appears in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). She lives in

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4212-402: The first musical adaptations of Baum's books took place in 1902; it was also dubbed The Wizard of Oz . The Munchkins make their appearance in act one, called "The Storm", in which they are shown dancing around their maypole , not noticing that Dorothy's house has fallen to earth killing the Wicked Witch of the East. The first film adaptation of Baum's works, titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ,

4293-439: The first time. In this novel he is shown to be older and more verbal. Button reveals that he is from Philadelphia, and that his real name is Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith. He was given the nickname "Button-Bright" by his parents as his name is rather long, and because they think that he is "bright as a button". In The Scarecrow of Oz (1915), Button-Bright becomes the first American to accidentally emigrate to

4374-483: The form of end-papers to the first edition of Tik-Tok of Oz (1914), one of the Oz books , the only authenticated map (reproduced here) that shows the Land of Oz in its entirety. For currently unknown reasons, this map switches the directions of east and west. The revised version of the map published by the International Wizard of Oz Club corrects the directions and reverses the map. Munchkin Country

4455-574: The group of adventurers on their quest to find Nimmie Amee, intending to fulfill his vow of marriage (although he is willing to give her up if she chooses the Woodman over him). When they finally find her, she is happily married to Chopfyt, the assembled and combined "meat" parts of the two men. Finding Nimmie Amee happily married, they return to the Emerald City where Captain Fyter joins the Royal Army of Oz. Eventually, Ozma sends Fyter to keep order among

4536-457: The grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older." – L. Frank Baum The Munchkins are first mentioned (quote shown) in an excerpt from chapter two of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , titled "The Council with the Munchkins". Dorothy initially meets only three of them, along with

4617-459: The importance of mannequins in attracting customers. Another possibility is a connection to Baron Munchausen . This fictional character is based on a real baron who told outrageous tall tales based on his military career. Like the other Oz terms, the word Munchkin ends in a diminutive which in this case refers to the size of the natives. "she noticed coming down toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as

4698-584: The inconsistency of Eureka's color. Eureka appears in the 2017 series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz voiced by Kari Wahlgren . She is a resident of Purrville who becomes friends with the Cowardly Lion . Evoldo is the late king of the Land of Ev , a monarchy across the Deadly Desert from Oz . He is discussed and pictured in Ozma of Oz (1907), but has died before the adventure takes place. Evoldo

4779-735: The king of the Munchkin Country as Cheeriobed . He rules from the Sapphire City in the Ozure Isles , with his wife, Queen Orin , and son, Prince Philador . He is introduced by name in The Giant Horse of Oz and makes a subsequent appearance in The Wishing Horse of Oz . In some of Thompson's Oz books, the geography is inverted, with the Munchkin Country in the Western part of Oz and the Winkie Country in

4860-420: The later Oz books The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), The Magic of Oz (1919) and Jack Snow's The Magical Mimics in Oz (1946). Baum borrowed from one of his own earlier characters, Naboth Perkins in Sam Steele's Adventures on Land and Sea (1906), to create Cap'n Bill. Cap'n Bill appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz , in the background at Princess Ozma's coronation, holding the Magic Flower. Cayke

4941-452: The mystery "Munchkin maiden" from the first book, who was the former lover of the Tin Woodman. More information is revealed that tells about the Tin Woodman's origin and their tragic love story. Lastly, the Munchkin Unc Nunkie appears in Baum's seventh book, The Patchwork Girl of Oz , where he is accidentally turned to stone. His Munchkin nephew Ojo successfully goes on a quest in search of an antidote while learning more about himself in

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5022-493: The piglet is, she is amused at being tried for something that is in her nature to attempt. Eureka returns with Dorothy to Kansas, but is later found living in Oz with no explanation of how she returned. Eureka may be conniving and deceitful, but overall she has a good heart. Eureka plays a significant supporting role in Dick Martin's 1986 novel The Ozmapolitan of Oz , and she is the heroine of Chris Dulabone's The Colorful Kitten of Oz (1990) which, among other things, addresses

5103-436: The plateau where the Yips live and travels the general land of Oz to find it. This trip makes her the first Yip to leave the plateau. Though the Frogman joins her, she was prepared to go alone, showing her courage and determination. Cayke is a relatively simple woman, but she is honest except when the truth will hurt someone's feelings, and seems to be generally good natured, if a little ill-tempered at times. According to Cayke,

5184-424: The process. L. Frank Baum died on 6 May 1919 after which other writers took up writing additional Oz stories. In some cases these books were written under Baum's name and included the Munchkins. There is at least one known Munchkin character that was created after Baum's death that appears as a major character. Zif is a Munchkin boy who appears in John R. Neill 's first adaptation called The Royal Book of Oz . Zif

5265-472: The proprietor of Singer's Midgets . A Daily Variety news story from 17 August 1938, stated 124 dwarves had been signed to play Munchkins; modern sources place the number either at 122 or 124. An additional dozen or so child actors were hired to make up for the shortage of dwarves. At least one Munchkin actor, Dale Paullin (stage name Paul Dale), did not make the final cut for the movie. Only two actors (Joseph Koziel and Frank Cucksey) used their actual voices for

5346-403: The scenes. In a 1967 interview, Judy Garland referred to all of the Munchkins as "little drunks" who got intoxicated every night to the point where they had to be picked up in "butterfly nets". These accusations were denied as fabrications by fellow Munchkin Margaret Pellegrini , who said only "a couple of kids from Germany even drank beer". On 20 November 2007, the Munchkins were given a star on

5427-416: The shoemaker steals Cayke's dishpan and uses it to kidnap Ozma and steal all the magic in the Land of Oz . When Cayke discovers her dishpan has gone missing, she is greatly distressed, and causes quite a fuss by wailing and screaming. After the Frogman, who is thought to be extremely wise by all of the Yips, tells her that the dishpan has been stolen by someone outside of the country of the Yips, she leaves

5508-401: The submerged city, the young men sit in the boat, unsure what to do. Ervic is approached by the Three Adepts at Magic who are stranded in the form of fish. They wish him to catch them in a bucket and to follow their instructions, and that if he does so, he will save himself, his city, and his companions. They help him get the boat to shore and have him carry the bucket to Reera the Red. Reera is

5589-401: The term origins he used in the book, which include the word Munchkin . Baum researcher Brian Attebery has hypothesized that there might be a connection to the Münchner Kindl , the emblem of the Bavarian city of Munich (spelled München in German ). The symbol was originally a 13th-century statue of a monk , looking down from the town hall in Munich. Over the years, the image

5670-511: The tiny hidden enclave called "Dainty China Country" in the Quadling Country of the Land of Oz . She, like all the other china people, cannot leave their enclave or they will become lifeless and stiff. The China Princess appears in the 2013 film Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return voiced by Megan Hilty . The Cowardly Lion is a talking lion who lives in the Land of Oz . He appears in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and becomes one of Dorothy Gale 's first companions in Oz, joining her and

5751-431: The title character of The Frogman of Oz: The Oz Book for 1947 , along with a U.S. Navy frogman . The Frogman is a crucial character in Jeff Freedman's 1994 novel The Magic Dishpan of Oz . The Frogman appears in the 1985 film Return to Oz . He is seen in the background at the coronation of Princess Ozma. Captain Fyter the Tin Soldier is a character who is first introduced in The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918). After

5832-496: The wild inhabitants of the unknown areas of the Gillikin Country. Gayelette was an ancient princess and sorceress who lived in a ruby palace in the northern quadrant called Gillikin Country of the Land of Oz , introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). She was the original owner and creator of the charmed Golden Cap which had a curse cast upon it that compelled the creatures called Winged monkeys long before

5913-505: Was a cruel despot ; after purchasing Tik-Tok , the clockwork man, and giving him his name, Evoldo sold his wife and ten children (five boys, five girls) to the Nome King in exchange for a long life. Later, regretting this bargain, he locked Tik-Tok in a stone chamber and committed suicide by jumping into the Nonestic Ocean . The Foolish Owl is a great blue owl that lives in Munchkin Country and speaks in nonsense poetry. She and

5994-518: Was adapted into a musical that was released in 1942 that includes the Munchkin characters. The events that take place mirror the film including the song " Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead ". Twenty-seven years later an animated film called The Wonderful Land of Oz was made featuring Jinjur as a main antagonist. Munchkin Country In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , it was originally called "the land of Munchkins", but

6075-572: Was created by Dr. Pipt's wife, Margolotte) and the Glass Cat . Dr. Pipt also invented the Powder of Life (although in the 1904 novel The Marvelous Land of Oz this invention is credited to another crooked magician named Dr. Nikidik). In an article in the Spring 1965 issue of The Baum Bugle , Lee Speth argues that Nikidik faked his death in the earlier book, to assume a new identity as Pipt. He

6156-518: Was deprived of his magic abilities by Glinda for doing magic without a permit. Glinda also straightened his crooked limbs. In The Lost Princess of Oz (1917), Dr. Pipt assists Ojo and Unc Nunkie in a search party that is organized to find Princess Ozma. Dr. Pipt appears in the 2017 series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz voiced by J. P. Karliak . Ervic is a major character in Glinda of Oz (1920). Displaying "courage, cleverness, and ingenuity," Ervic

6237-502: Was later revised as The Munchkins of Oz (Cumberland House), and his book remained in print for nearly two decades. When he wrote the book, 33 of the actors with dwarfism who appeared in the film were still alive and were interviewed. Several of them outlived all the major cast, as well as the original Tin Man Buddy Ebsen . Jerry Maren , who played the green "Lollipop Guild" member, was the last living adult Munchkin actor. Maren

6318-506: Was released in 1910, followed by three sequels. However, it was not until 1914 that Munchkin characters first appeared in film works. Ojo the Lucky and Unc Nunkie both appear in a film titled The Patchwork Girl of Oz (based on the book of the same name). This film stars American actress Violet MacMillan as Ojo and was produced by Baum . The 1939 movie musical The Wizard of Oz was loosely based on Baum's novel. Notable differences of

6399-487: Was reproduced many times, for instance as a figure on beer steins , and eventually evolved into a child wearing a pointed hood. Baum's family had German origins, suggesting that Baum could have seen one such reproduction in his childhood. It is also possible that Munchkin came from the German word Männchen , which means "mannikin" or "little figure". In 1900, Baum published a book about window displays in which he stressed

6480-459: Was the former love interest of the Tin Woodman . Baum also included the Munchkin characters in his later works as minor and major individual characters. The Munchkin Jinjur is the main antagonist in Baum's second book The Marvelous Land of Oz , where she seeks to overthrow the Scarecrow and take over the Emerald City . Jinjur makes a brief appearance in the next book, entitled Ozma of Oz , and

6561-502: Was the only Munchkin alive when the film's longest living cast member, Shep Houghton , an extra, died in 2016. About a dozen children of average height were hired so they could be used for background fill. Sources differ on the number of children used for these roles ranging anywhere from 10 to 12. The names used for the women are maiden names with known aliases present in italics and quotation marks. As of 2023, at least three "child munchkins" are known to be living. The 1939 film

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